Stealing the Sorting Hat
by caramary
Summary: Draco and Blaise have been playing a game for years, but now the game brings some unexpected twists. DMHG.
1. The Dare

The Dare

**EDIT: Yes, I know I've been A.W.O.L for a very long time. A lot of stuff has happened and I lost interest in the Harry Potter fandom for a while. I've been writing for a different fandom under a different name and I like to think my writing has improved. Reading over these stories I feel like I can do better than how they are at the moment, so I'm going over them and rewriting them in my current style. I hope you'll give me another chance, and I'll try to at least finish the stories I've started, but they may not be very good because of my leaving the Harry Potter fandom for so long.**

You know I have no idea where this one came from… And that worries me… anyway on with the story.

Disclaimer: You know, as much as I want it to happen JKR probably wont put Hermione with Draco. So this is just yet another product of a deranged mind.

This is my 7th year AU, read my profile for details.

Two seventh year Slytherins sat in their common room, warming themselves in front of the fire on the cold October evening. One lay stretched out across an emerald green sofa and other was toying with the pieces of a wizard chess set. The blonde on the sofa yawned and stretched slowly before turning to the darker haired boy beside him.  
"Finished looking at the ceiling yet Draco?" Draco jumped slightly. _How does he always know what I'm doing?_  
"The sofa creaked." Draco laughed at the answer to his unspoken question.  
"You're scary when you do that, you know."  
"I know. Where's your shadow?" Draco snorted in contempt.  
"Off somewhere with her friends, probably tormenting Granger."

The darker boy nodded and picked up the white king, turning it in his hand and ignoring its squeaks of protest at his intent examination. Draco watched for a few moments, but soon became bored. He began glaring at the back of the other boy's head. He sighed and set down his chess piece before turning around to look at Draco.  
"Can I help you?" He asked with one eyebrow raised.  
"Well Blaise, are you going to give me your next dare, or are we going to skip straight to your forfeit? After all you have been doing a lot of them recently. Honestly, sneaking spiders into Weasel's bed wasn't exactly hard." Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy had been playing this game ever since first year when Draco had challenged the only other powerful Slytherin in his year for dominance. That first dare had been memorable, especially for a first year, but Blaise had managed to complete it, which meant he then had the chance to challenge Draco. It became little more than a game, but neither would back down and so the members of Slytherin had learnt to watch for signs of a new dare, knowing they would be greatly entertained. As the years at Hogwarts had passed the two boys had matured and come up wither harder and harder dares, and a forfeit for those dares not completed. Blaise fixed Draco with an emotionless stare.

"You've been doing just as many as I have Draco. After all, your last dare of convincing Potty that Weasel loved him wasn't difficult, we all know how they really feel about each other." He absently picked up another chess piece as he frowned in thought. Draco left him to think, the better the dare the more fun he had. He looked up with a smirking twist to his mouth and Draco leaned forward eagerly, knowing he had come up with an idea from the sparkle in his black eyes.

"Steal the Sorting Hat." Draco could only stare at his friend in confusion at the flat statement.  
"Steal the Sorting Hat?" He repeated not sure he'd heard right.

"That's right, steal the Sorting Hat. Then come back here and wear it around the common room for a while." Blaise was clearly suppressing laughter, which irritated Draco.

"Blaise, that's impossible." Draco was pretty shocked at his friend's cunning.

"Well you said you wanted a more challenging dare. By Monday evening, Draco." Draco thought about it for a few moments and an idea formed in his mind.

"Alright Blaise, I'm game. The usual forfeit?"

"You bet." The two Slytherins leant forward and shook hands, both with a smirk on his face. Draco yawned and stood, stretching again and glancing towards the corridor leading to the dormitories.

"I'm off to bed, I've got double potions in the morning. Coming Blaise?"

"Why not." Draco's yawn had set Blaise off and he packed away his chess set and joined Draco on his way to bed.

Pansy returned to the common room not long afterwards and glanced around for Draco. Millicent looked up from her book and snorted when she saw Pansy hovering by the door.  
"You've missed him Pansy. Draco and Blaise went to bed about ten minutes ago." Pansy glared at the girl before sitting down.  
"I wasn't looking for them anyway." She said loudly. Millicent snorted again and shook her head.  
"You keep telling yourself that." She muttered as she returned to her book.

Pansy sat there for several minutes, acting stiffly affronted, before becoming bored and slumping down in the chair.  
"Anything interesting happen?" She asked. Millicent sighed and shut her book.  
"Well, Draco's got a new dare from Blaise." She answered.  
"What?!" Millicent winced at Pansy's shriek.  
"Jeeze, tone it down a little." Pansy wasn't listening to Millicent's whining and her shriek had drawn several others over.  
"What is it?" A sixth year asked excitedly.  
"Draco's gotta steal Dumbledore's sorting hat."  
"What?"  
"No way!"  
"And how on earth's he going to do that?" Millicent held up her hands to slow the tide of shouts.  
"Well, Blaise managed to turn McGonagall's hair pink in third year." She reminded the room.  
"Oh yeah! She couldn't get it out for a week!" The Slytherins that had been around for that memorable dare howled with laugher as they remembered McGonagall's outrage.

"Well, I don't think Draco's dare last year can be topped."  
"Which one?"  
"The one where he locked Snape in the cupboard with that hamster who'd swallowed a love potion."

"That one! Oh god, his face when he got out of there."  
"I still can't understand how the hamster managed to get his underwear off."  
"I don't think anyone really wants to know." Millicent watched in wonder the hubbub she had unwittingly created. Most of the older Slytherins had a favourite dare and the others each wanted a to comment. She settled back in her chair with a sigh, she had really wanted to finish that chapter.

"Personally, I liked the one with Seamus Finnigan back in fourth year."  
"You mean the one where Blaise locked him out of his common room wearing nothing but one of Pansy's thongs?"  
"Hey! That was one of my favourite thongs! I could never wear it again."  
"Finnigan's expression was worth it though, especially since we got photo's of it. Hell, even some of the Gryffindors laughed at him."  
"Well their own pranks suck so they have to laugh at ours."

"You're all forgetting about the time Draco covered the entire Hufflepuff breakfast table with flour!"

"Or the time he put hot sauce in the Gryffindors' meal. They were certainly red that day!"

"What about bewitching Snape so that he thought a pink elephant was chasing him?"

"Oh, and of course there was the 'greasy git' song that played through out potions that day."

"How'd Blaise manage to flood the Great Hall?"

"Same way he flooded McGonagall's office I suppose." Millicent stood up and stalked to her dormitory, muttering about getting some reading done there. The other Slytherin's watched her leave before shrugging as one and returning to their conversation.

XXXXXXXXXX

Draco awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning. The sun was shining down through a cloudless blue sky. There was a cold wind blowing through the trees, whirling the autumn leaves around in complex spirals. Relaxing against the tree he was leant against in the grounds, Draco mused on the plan he had spent all day yesterday thinking about. During his first year Draco had first visited Hogwarts' kitchens on a Saturday afternoon much like this one.

He was cold and wet after failing one of Blaise's dares. He had heard from his mother about Hogwarts' kitchens and decided to visit to get a hot chocolate and warm himself up. Re-entering the castle, Draco had walked past the Great Hall quickly to avoid any Slytherins that may have been in there and reached the portrait of the fruit. Tickling the pear, he waited until the door had formed and then cautiously walked in.

The House elves had looked up briefly, but didn't seem surprised to see a dripping student enter. **Obviously in their years at Hogwarts they've seen everything **Draco thought as he sat down at one of the small tables lining the sides of the room. One of the elves approached Draco when he had seated himself.

"Is there anything Sparky can get sir?" She enquired politely.

"Umm, yeah. Could you get me some hot chocolate?" Draco asked, not sure how to treat these house elves. Father had always hated him being polite to the ones at home.

"Yes sir." Sparky replied happily before running off towards the centre of the kitchen.

Draco took out his wand and performed a quick drying spell. Most of the first years were not able to do even simple spells when they started here but Lucius had taught his son many spells before Draco started Hogwarts. He relaxed into his chair and glanced around the kitchen. It was as large as the hall above it and he noticed the four tables laid out in the same pattern. On a counter near the centre of one of the walls he noticed two elves filling a bowl with different kinds of seed and nuts. Sparky brought his hot chocolate over to him at that point and he was distracted from the room at the speed Sparky had brought his drink.

"Can Sparky get you anything else sir?" She asked, after giving him his drink.

"Thank you Sparky and no." He took a sip. "Wow, this is great, Sparky." Sparky visibly glowed at the comment, bowed and turned to leave. A curious thought was bugging Draco, begging to be heard, and he called Sparky back.

"Wait, Sparky." Sparky turned back to him.

"Yes sir?"

"It's Draco, Sparky. What is the bowl full of seeds for?" Sparky was almost bouncing around the room at Draco's offhand comment. A student had told her his first name.

"It is for master Dumbledore's phoenix, master Draco." She answered.

"Thanks again Sparky." Draco grinned at her and she grinned back.

"Goodbye master Draco."

"Bye Sparky." Spark ran off back to her chores with a smile Draco thought couldn't possibly be any bigger. He smiled himself and sipped his drink, he had made his first real friend.

XXXXXXXXXX

Draco's memory ended as he brought himself back to the present with a smile on his face It was that meeting all those years ago that had given Draco an idea to help him with his dare. One of Draco's most closely kept secrets was that he was a regular patron of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, under a false name of course, which would now help him as it had with various other dares.

Over the years Draco had spent a lot of time in the Hogwarts kitchens and had come to know a lot more of the house elves by name, but Sparky had always been his favourite and still always greeted him with a smile.

Draco spent the morning outside enjoying the last of the year's sunshine. He strolled around the castle, allowing his mind to wander as freely as his feet. He refined a few of his ideas for completing the dare and by the time he had seated himself underneath a tree he had a fully formed plan. When the time he had decided to be in the kitchens drew closer, he rose from the shade of his tree by the lake and began the walk back to the castle. On his way he encountered three people he'd rather have avoided. The three were so deep in conversation that they didn't notice him until they were almost on top of him.

"So if we use the…" Potter broke off as he saw Draco.

"Watch where you're going Malfoy." Potter said angrily. Draco smirked at him.

"I wouldn't want to hear the sordid details of your's and Weasley's sex life anyway Potter." Draco noticed with some satisfaction that Weasley's face had turned bright red, probably due to the recent rumours that had been flying around.

"Shove off, Ferret." The tone was cold, filled with veiled anger. The words didn't come from either Potter or Weasley. Draco turned reluctantly to the female member of the trio, Her… Granger! It was Granger, not Hermione!

"Maybe I don't want to, Mudblood." Weasley leapt at Draco but Potter flung out an arm and held him back.

"It's not worth it mate, he'll just go running to that father of his. Oh wait, he can't now can he? _His_ father's in Azkaban." Draco flinched visibly at that. No matter how childish Potter's insult was, it still hurt. He kept his eyes on Granger instead of snapping at Potter with a weak insult. The suddenly soft look she was giving him surprised him. She had caught the slight hesitation before Draco insulted her and she had seen him flinch. The two boys saw no deeper than the mask Draco wore and the insults he threw.

Draco turned away before he could reveal anything more and sneered at Potter before walking away, deliberately jogging Weasley's shoulder as he went past. He heard Granger telling Weasley to calm down as he walked away but he ignored it, thinking instead of what Potter had said. There had been a slight inflection to his tone, which had made it clear that Potter thought Draco should be in Azkaban with his father. How would Potter know the internal struggle Draco had gone through during the war. That Draco had never gotten his Dark Mark, and that he wore long sleeves for a much different reason. That Draco was glad his father had been locked up. Or that Draco had fought for the light, deserting the Deatheaters and coming very close to dying with Snape. Potter didn't know because he didn't care. It was much easier to hate Draco unconditionally than to admit that he had been wrong once.

Draco kept his fragile hold on his emotions as he entered Hogwarts and moved out of the sight of the Golden Trio. Once he was past the doors, he broke into a dead run across the hall to the portrait of the fruit on the other side. He slipped into an alcove across from the painting and paused to get himself under control. _Malfoys don't show weak emotions in public, damn it! _After a few moments Draco slowed his breathing and calmed himself, taking on his emotionless mask once more. He crossed the hallway and opened the doorway, entering the kitchens as he pushed all thoughts of what had just happened to the back of his mind and turned his thoughts instead to the first stage of his plan to steal the Sorting Hat.

And here's the first chapter. Slight angst may be brought into it I have decided but other than that it's gonna be DM/HG and maybe light comedy. Tell me what you think about it. And what you think about Draco and the elves :) I am considering a separate fic about the dares and the forfeit, tell me whether you guys think it's a good idea, and send any ideas you have for dares. EDIT: Wow, I had tense troubles back then… Well I think I've fixed it all up.. I hope. Oh, the dare idea still stands, send 'em in and they might appear ;)  
And as you can all see, I put in several of the dares here J But I still have several in reserve XD 


	2. Phase Two

Phase Two

EDIT: Hi again. So, lets take a look at this chapter, eh?

My friend tells me that I got the idea in class… Again… Hmm… I've just realised, she is technically my muse and I need to recognise her…

I dedicate this story to random-minions-go-forth, my muse.

"Master Draco!" Draco smiled at the blur that was Sparky as she rushed towards him.

"Hey Sparky. Oof!" He exclaimed as the elf crashed into him and ricocheted backwards onto the floor.  
"Are you all right?" He asked as he helped her back to her feet.  
"Sparky is fine!" She squeaked as she straightened her tea towel. "Sparky is sorry, but Sparky missed Master Draco last year and Sparky was so worried about him this summer." Draco laughed and smiled at Sparky as she twisted the corner of her towel in embarrassment.  
"It's fine Sparky! I missed you too."  
"You did!?" Sparky's voice was almost high enough to hurt Draco's ears as she flung herself at him again. Draco was ready this time and managed to catch her as she hugged him. He wasn't ready for the second elf to slam into his leg and send all three crashing to the floor.

"Master Draco!"

"Master Draco!" Draco groaned as he pried the elf off of his leg.  
"Hey, Dobby." He replied, rubbing at his arm where it had slammed into the floor. Sparky looked up at him with wide eyes before turning to Dobby and smacking him.  
"Dobby hurt master Draco!" She shouted at him. Dobby hung his head in shame and his pile of hats wobbled dangerously. Draco darted forward to push them back up and Dobby looked up quickly.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." He assured them, before darting quick glances around the kitchen to check for other students. Sparky noticed his gaze and smiled sadly.  
"It is all right, master Draco. Sparky checked there were no other students in the room before greeting you." Draco sighed at Sparky's sad tone, but was interrupted by Dobby before he could say anything.  
"Master Lucius is in Azkaban now, master Draco. You can be yourself." He said quietly. Draco sighed again.  
"I know Dobby, but I have a reputation to up hold now. Besides, this is the only person I can be if I am to survive in Slytherin. I worked that one out a long time ago." Dobby bowed his head for a moment before nodding and scurrying back to his chores.

Draco smiled back at Sparky, who was still looking sad.  
"Cheer up Sparky, this is who I am now. I'm used to it." Sparky nodded and smiled back.

"What can Sparky get for Master Draco?" She asked in her usual cheery tones.

"Could you get me a lemonade please Sparky?" He replied easily.

"Right away Master Draco." Sparky turned away and Draco made his way to his usual table hidden away in the corner of the room. He didn't hear Sparky's softly whispered words as she went to get his lemonade.  
"You may be used to it, master Draco. But Sparky wishes you'd find someone who can accept you for who you **really **are."

It was around the same time of day as his first visit to the kitchens had been. Sparky rushed back over to him, carrying his lemonade.

"Thanks Sparky." He said quietly as he accepted the drink.

"Master Draco is most welcome." She smiled at him again. Sparky had a lovely smile, but she blushed a flaming red that looked almost painful when he told her that so he just smiled back. She rushed back to her chores and left him in the corner. Draco sat drinking and wondering just how he would start the next pat of his plan without getting detention. He didn't mind if it was in the name of completing the prank, but it could slow things down and it was always preferable not to waste his time. He was usually happy to have the kitchens to himself but it was not helping his plan.

It was a moment later that the door opened and a couple of Hufflepuff 3rd years walked in and sat down near the front of the kitchen, chattering madly. _Perfect. _He reached into his pocket and pulled out a dungbomb. He smirked as he sipped his lemonade and waited until the third years had settled and received their drinks from the house-elves. He placed the dungbomb on the table and quietly cast Wingardium Leviosa on it. He flew it around the room, keeping it to the shadows to avoid detection.

Finally it hovered over the third years and with a flick of his wrist Draco sent it plummeting down to smash on the floor by one of their chairs. The moment the dungbomb went off everyone began choking and the students, along with the house-elves, ran from the room. Draco knew he had mere minutes before Filch arrived and quickly ran into the smoke holding his breath.

He pulled from his pocket a small packet, a product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes he'd been holding in reserve, and quickly emptied it over the Phoenix's food, which two elves had been preparing. His task having been completed he ran from the room before Filch turned up, and before he choked.

XXXXXXXXXX

Draco took the long route to the Slytherin common room to allow any remaining smell from the dungbomb to disperse. When he finally arrived he sauntered in and sat beside Blaise, who was once again playing with his chess set.

"Hey Draco, did you hear? Some idiotic Hufflepuff 3rd years set off a dungbomb in the kitchen." Blaise exclaimed when he noticed Draco's entrance. Draco couldn't help but start laughing. Not only had he set his plan in motion, he had also gotten the Hufflepuffs blamed for it. _News sure travels fast in this school. _He thought.

Blaise looked worriedly at his friend.

"You alright Draco?" He asked, edging away slightly as you would from someone who had recently gone mad.

"Oh, I'm just fine." Draco replied, calming himself down a little.

"What the hell were you laughing at then?" Blaise demanded suspiciously.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Draco said with his air of cold secrecy. Blaise sat silently for a few moments until he realised that this could all be part of Draco's plan to complete the dare. He cursed quietly, causing Draco to smirk at him. Draco had always been quick at completing the dares, but this had to be a new record.

Blaise sighed as he turned a pawn over in his fingers. He knew he would get nothing out of Draco that Draco didn't want to tell him. He had learned the hard way not to pry into Draco's affairs. Blaise shuddered as he remembered what had happened the only time he had ever pressed Draco for information he didn't want to give. Hanging by his ankles from his bedpost was not high on his list of enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon. Draco shook his head slightly and turned the conversation onto different topics.

XXXXXXXXXX

That night Draco crept out of his dormitory once the others had gone to bed. If the product did what it claimed to do it would be happening soon. After almost seven years of night time wandering Draco knew most of the secret passages in the school and found it easy to avoid Snape and Filch. Draco absently wondered whether Snape or Filch ever slept as he took up position in the shadows behind a suit of armour outside Dumbledore's office.

He didn't have to wait long before Dumbledore came running out carrying his Phoenix. It wasn't looking very well. _Neither did I after taking that for the first time _Draco remembered. He waited until Dumbledore had run off down the corridor and then moved to the stone gargoyle. _I think that's the only time I've ever seen Dumbledore running _he mused.

"Fruit pastilles." Draco told the Gargoyle which moved aside for him. _Ironic,_ Draco noted. He ran up the stairs, as he wasn't sure how long Dumbledore would be occupied with his Phoenix. Reaching the door he pulled it open slowly, making sure there was no one in the room. Seeing it was empty Draco hurriedly rushed inside and reached up to the shelf behind Dumbledore's desk. He grabbed the Sorting Hat and ran back out the door and down the stairs. By the time he had reached the secret passage on the other side of the hall the Hat had woken up.

"What's going on?" The hat was very sleepy but very loud.

"Quiet you idiot, you'll wake the whole school." Draco hissed, running down the passageway, which was far too close to some of the frequented corridors for his liking.

"Oh I see… HELP! I'M BEING KIDNAP… Mmmufrarg." When the Hat had begun shouting Draco had decided the quickest way to shut it up was to turn it inside out and grip it tightly around the mouth. It had worked. Draco ran on silent feet through the halls away from the place where the hat had been shouting. When he finally made it back to the common room he heaved a sigh of relief and turned the Hat the right way round again.

"Listen to me. Either you stay very very quiet or I start trying out my Diffendo charms on you. Understand?" Draco threatened.

"Clear as crystal." The Hat replied. Draco continued up to his dorm and put the hat in his bedside drawer. He then fell asleep, grinning at the thought of tomorrow. Unfortunately for Draco the Hat had plans of his own.

I know it's short… But this seemed like the perfect place to end it. Please don't hate my for the cliff-hanger… I shall update soon.

EDIT: I couldn't resist the scene with the elves - So, it's a little longer now.


	3. Revelations

Revelations

EDIT: This is a very short chapter, but I don't think I can make it longer..  


Draco woke up on Sunday morning with a feeling of triumph. He made his way down to the common room where Blaise, who was always an early riser, was already waiting.

"Hey Blaise. Just out of interest what time do you want me to wear the Sorting Hat?" Draco asked, trying for an innocent tone.

"Don't tell me you have it already?" Blaise demanded.

"Perhaps." Draco was being secretive again. Blaise sighed.

"In the evening, after dinner." He told Draco.

"See you tonight then." Draco smirked and walked out of the door. Blaise sat watching him leave. He sighed, just lately he hadn't been able to get the better of Draco. _I'll just have to make sure I don't fail **his** next dare._

XXXXXXXXXX

Draco went to the library after breakfast to kill some time. Walking through the doors he caught sight of brown hair glinting in the sunlight. He very nearly stopped and ran back out, but after scanning the room saw that Potter and Weasley weren't with her. _Figures, those two aren't exactly academic. _He quickly walked past while she was occupied with her books and disappeared into a darker part of the library. Hiding between the shelves, where he was sure she couldn't see him, Draco watched her for a while. He sighed. Suddenly he seemed to realise what he was doing. Horrified, he whirled around and almost sprinted to the back shelves, where he concentrated fiercely on his home work. While recently he hadn't needed to be top of the class, as his father no longer cared about his grades, he still liked to uphold his high marks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Draco saw Blaise only at meals that day and smirked secretly at him, which he knew drove him wild as he couldn't do anything about it. Secretly he was a little ashamed for the way he had reacted back in second year. But Blaise had made him angry at a time when he didn't control his anger very well and there was no way to take back what had happened. He had apologised afterwards and it did made it a lot easier to keep secrets now.

XXXXXXXXXX

After dinner Draco met Blaise in the common room as usual.

"I'll be back in a moment Blaise, I need to get something from my room." Blaise watched Draco descend the stairs with the sinking feeling that he had just lost the bet.

"I gave him far too much time." He muttered to himself as he sat down near the centre of the room. Draco half ran to his dormitory wanting to win the dare as quickly as possible, so that he could gloat. Luckily the room was empty as Draco entered and retrieved the hat from the drawer. He rolled the hat up and carried it back to the common room. Draco sat beside Blaise and triumphantly unrolled the hat.

"No way!" Blaise exclaimed. "How?" He demanded. Draco just smirked at him and placed the hat on his head, attracting immediate attention from the entire common room. Having known what the dare was, most of the common room watched in surprise at Draco having completed the dare so quickly. Only the first years were confused as the rest of the common room watched eagerly as most of the dares proved very entertaining for everyone around them. The last thing Draco saw before the hat slipped over his eyes was everyone in the common room staring at him.

Hello. Draco thought.****

Hello, Mister put-me-in-Slytherin-or-I'll-cut-you-up-with-my-pocket-knife.

The rest of the Slytherins wondered why Draco was suddenly smirking.

****

So, are you going to tell me why you stole me?

A dare.

A… Dare?

Blaise and I have been daring each other to do things since first year. This time it was my turn and I had to steal you.

Hmm. You haven't changed much since 1st year. I didn't really get a chance to examine your mind though. Lets see. Cunning. Bravery. Courage.

Aren't the last two the same?

No. There is a big difference. Bravery is being brave.

Duh.

Courage is being brave for others. I see you have much of that. And smart too. I think I made a mistake when placing you.

Don't even think about it.

Didn't you like red when you were younger Draco? Carried around a stuffed lion Draco?

Shut up.

Draco's expression had turned murderous and Blaise shuffled away slightly, as his sense of self preservation had kicked in.

****

I'm only giving you what's in your mind Draco. Oh, but that's too bad. You had to give that up when Lucius took an interest in you, didn't you?  
I never really liked that Lion anyway. The hat gave the equivalent of a snort and continued delving through Draco's mind.****

Oh, what's this then?

Get out of there right now!

Blaise edged away even further as Draco was now muttering furiously. They were words which shouldn't be repeated in civilised company.

****

I don't think I will. You and a certain Gryffindor eh? Hmm you have a very active imagination.

You're enjoying this! You're perverted!

An old man made me, what do you expect?

I don't even want to think about that.

I would never have expected this from you Draco. Hermione Granger. Well well well.

Shut up!

If that's the way you want it.

"Gryffindor!" The hat yelled to a suddenly silent common room. Draco froze, _how the hell am I going to explain this? _He knew he would have to face them sometime. Draco reached up and pulled the hat off his head and looked around at a shocked common room.

"I can explain." He began.

How evil am I? Sorry people but I planned to leave it there a long time ago. So review and tell me what you think. Right. If you can tell me what Draco gave the phoenix then I'll give you the cookie. Also maybe you can settle an argument between my friend and me. Do phoenixes eat mice or seeds? Come on people help us we've been arguing for a while...

EDIT: Nope, I couldn't. It does just what I wanted it to. Ah well. Oh, by the way, most of you said seeds but Random and I still argue over this sometimes… Sigh. 


	4. Confrontations

Confrontations

EDIT: -Waves- Peek a boo. I see you.

Shut up!

If that's the way you want it.

"Gryffindor!" The hat yelled to a suddenly very quiet common room. Draco froze, _how the hell am I going to explain this? _He knew he would have to face them sometime. Draco reached up and pulled the hat off his head and looked around a shocked common room.

"I can explain_."_ He began

XXXXXXXXXX

I can't explain. Draco thought. _Oh hell, they're all looking at me, better say something. _Suddenly Draco got one of his sudden ideas. He began laughing. The entire common room looked at him as if he had gone mad. Draco half turned to Blaise. 

"You should have seen your face." He choked out between laughs. The students understood now and several of the older ones began laughing too. Blaise however was unconvinced. Draco had been acting strangely for a long time now and the look of horror on Draco's face was too real for him to have been acting.

Draco strode to the other end of the common room, pausing before the stairs to turn and wave cockily at the common room then walking down to the dormitories, leaving the others laughing and teasing Blaise. As soon as he was out of sight his expression turned murderous.

"You will pay for that." He hissed to the hat. He slowly began tightening his grip and the hat squeaked loudly. Draco paused.

"I didn't know hats could squeak." He said.

"There are a lot of things you don't know." The hat told him in a muffled voice. Draco began walking again.

"You just don't learn do you?" He asked squeezing tighter.

He reached the dormitory and threw the hat on his bed. He reached into his beside drawer and pulled out a silver penknife. A very sharp silver penknife.

"Dumbledore will expel you if you destroy me." The hat's voice was shrill.

"You are in no position to be making threats." Draco warned. "Besides I don't have to destroy you, just, make a few holes." Draco's voice had become silky, quiet and calm. The hat knew it was in big trouble. It shuddered as Draco waved the knife in front of him and began to advance.

"Wait!" The hat called out desperately.

"Give me one reason I should." Draco replied, still advancing.

"I can help you with Hermione!" The hat shrieked. Draco stopped and hope began welling up inside him, which he roughly pushed away. Until he was certain the hat could do as he promised he couldn't afford to hope.

"How?" He hadn't let any of his emotions show in his voice and the hat knew he was still in a lot of trouble.

"If you put me on her head I can read her thoughts and tell you how she feels about you." It was a simple plan and Draco saw many holes in it.

"What good would that do? She hates me. I know it." He said bitterly.

"Just try it." The hat told him. Draco sighed.

"Fine, I can still get you later if it doesn't work. But how the hell am I going to get you on her head anyway?" He demanded. The hat looked at him incredulously.

"I thought you were smarter than that." It muttered. Draco took a step forward swinging his knife dangerously.

"Ok, ok! You're good at Transfiguration right?" The hat's voice was moving back to squeaky again. Draco stopped and glared at the hat.

"What has that got to do with anything?" He demanded feeling angrier.

"Just hear me out. Are you?" _Persistent little…_

"Yes!" Draco snapped.

"It's winter." The hat stated. Draco stared at it. _What the…_

"What the hell does that have to do with anything!"

"What does Hermione wear during the winter?" The hat sounded like it was talking to a five year old. Draco was by now thoroughly confused and murderously angry.

"A bobble hat, but what does that have to…" Draco stopped and a smirk slowly spread across his face.

"Oh." He said.

"Precisely." The hat replied. It felt quite smug having stopped Draco from murdering it. Draco just stood there for a few moments. Without warning he lunged at the hat with his knife. An inch before the knife drove into the hat Draco stopped and smiled evilly, the knife suspended above it. The hat let out a sound which could only be described as,

"Eep!" Draco looked down at the hat and laughed.

"That was for earlier. I guess there are many things a hat can do." He said. Draco then threw his knife onto his bedside table.

"Now, lets get down to business." He said, grabbing the hat.

So what do you all think about the confrontation between Draco and the hat? Hey just because Draco isn't evil doesn't mean he can't get angry… And no one answered the phoenix question so me and my friend are still arguing… Can someone help me with putting in breaks?

EDIT: Again, short chapter… -Shrug- I do know how to put in breaks now.. But I prefer my little X's.


	5. Operation Bobble Hat

Operation Bobble Hat

EDIT: I'm hoping to make this one longer.. Let's take a look.  


"Are you sure this will work?" Draco asked for the fifth time.

"Yes. If you're good enough at the spell."

"You do realise if I get this wrong you could be permanently transfigured into something horrible right?"

"Yes, but it's better than being cut into tiny pieces by a homicidal Slytherin."

"True."

"I have full confidence in you. Besides, if you do transfigure me irreversibly Dumbledore will expel you." Draco glared at the hat.

"No worries then." He muttered.

"Just cast the spell. Trust me." The hat tried for a convincing smile but only managed a slightly scary leer.

"I hate it when people say that to me." Draco muttered, then sighed.

"Fine. But if this goes wrong I'm telling Dumbledore it was your fault."

Draco waved his wand in a very complicated gesture, which the hat had insisted was necessary and had taken Draco an hour to learn.

"Verto Bobliatus." A strange multi-coloured light shot out of the end of Draco's wand and hit the hat, sending it flying backwards to hit the wall. Draco enjoyed that somewhat. The hat had told Draco that the spell would take a few moments to work. Draco looked around the room. It was Monday lunchtime and Draco was hungry, which made him irritable. The room was empty **because** it was Monday lunchtime and any sane people were having Lunch rather than arguing with an overly clever hat. Draco looked around the room; lit by the perpetual candlelight it was gloomy at best. The walls were bare stone, as were the floors. There weren't even rugs on the floor. The room was drab and lacked personality. _Well, it's not like the girl's rooms are much better._

Draco realized he'd been looking around the room for over five minutes now. _Where is that blasted hat?_ He walked around the bed to where the hat had slipped down after the spell. Leaning forward he spotted a multi-coloured hat with an idiotic fuzzy thing on the top. _I like the girl, but her fashion sense does leave something to be desired _Draco thought wryly. Picking up the hat, Draco saw why it had been so quiet. He doubled up laughing.

"Nmph fumph!" The hat shrieked. Draco laughed even harder. There was no open slit in this hat so it couldn't talk. Watching the material straining to open sent Draco into fits of laughter.

"I don't think I'll be giving you a mouth, hat. You're much nicer this way." The hat shrieked again but Draco ignored it and strode out of his dormitory, hiding the hat in his bag. He walked back through the common room and up through the halls until he reached the doors to the Great Hall. Draco looked around the edge of one of the open doors to see if Hermione was inside.

After frantically sweeping the Great Hall his eyes fell on her, she was laughing at something Seamus had said. Irrationally Draco suddenly wanted to murder Seamus, but in the next moment he was distracted by a beam of sunlight falling onto Hermione from one of the tall windows, the scene was clichéd but he couldn't look away. As she moved her head Hermione's hair shimmered with the most brilliant shades of god and auburn Draco had ever seen. _How could she not think her hair is beautiful? _He wondered. As if knowing she was being watched, Hermione glanced up at the doors and Draco shot back out of sight. His heart was pounding. _Did she see me?_ He ran outside and took a few moments to calm down. Soon he was back to his usual calm self. _Hermione's the only one who's managed to make me lose my composure. _He thought with a smile. Turning he continued around the castle, _time for phase two._

Draco often took walks around Hogwarts' grounds during lunch and after school had finished. Most of the school was still eating so there was no one else outside as there usually was. The grounds were beautiful at this time of year. October had always been a beautiful month to Draco; the sun was still out and shining in cloudless skies without the sticky heat of mid-summer. In shady places little pockets of frost sparkled, making Draco want to run his fingers through the grass and catch the droplets of dew as he had when he was younger. Memories of happier days before he was old enough to be noticed by his father filled his mind but he savagely pushed them away. He was older now, he had seen and lived far too much to be able to stay within those memories of the past for long. This plan could be his very last chance for happiness of any kind. Draco walked through the grass, noticing the last flowers of the season were still open and displaying their colours. There was always beauty if you looked for it. Even when everything seemed to be dying there was still always a small speck of hope.

At the north facing end of the castle stood the tallest tower. _Gryffindor tower, at last_ Draco thought. Stopping in the shadows underneath the tower Draco took out his miniaturised broom from the pocket of his robe. He reversed the shrinking charm and watched as his Nimbus 2001 returned to full size. _Sure, _he thought as he mounted the broom and kicked off, _I could have bought a better broom but I've grown attached to this one. _Draco flew higher and higher into the air, keeping tightly to the wall of the tower as to not be seen.

When he reached the top of the tower he paused for a moment, he could see for miles up there. The lake was bordered by green hills that gave way to snow capped mountains. _Figures the Gryffindors would get the best views_ Draco though sourly as he drifted across the tower searching for the right window. The window was locked from the inside. Draco stared into the room, easily identifying Hermione's bed. It was much neater than any of the others, the bed was made and the items on the dresser stacked neatly. There was a pile of advanced textbooks on her trunk. Draco grinned, _no wonder she's so much further ahead. _Carefully taking one hand off his broom he drew out his wand.

"Alohomora." He muttered tapping the window, which refused to open. _Damn. _One of the students had put extra locking charms on the window. _Sometimes that woman is far too clever for her own good. _The broom rocked as he twisted he bag round to his front and took out the hat and put it on his head.

Any more bright ideas? I'm over 100 feet in the air wearing a ridiculous bobble hat and the window wont open.

****

Well... There is one way we could get in.

How?

****

Godric had a special spell created specially for opening the windows in Gryffindor tower, for uh... emergencies. Like... uh... fires... And… things.

Yeah ok. Just tell me this 'emergency' spell.

****

Penetro virga

Draco sat there in silence for several seconds.

You have got to be joking.

****

Nope.

Do you even know what that means in English?

****

Yes. It means...

DON'T say it!

Draco ripped the hat of his head to the sound of muffled chuckling, which became louder as he nearly fell off his broom.

"Bloody hat! I can't believe I'm gonna do this." Too late Draco realised that he had not asked the hat if there was a wand movement to go with the spell. He was not going to put that hat back on; he decided to use the standard wand movement for unlocking spells. Leaning over, he tapped the window.

"Penetro virga." He muttered, blushing slightly at the implications of the spell. There was a slight click and Draco pushed the window. It swung open and Draco climbed in. _Well what do you know, it actually works. _He walked over to Hermione's bed and opened her trunk. Her bobble hat was lying on the top and Draco picked it up to compare it with his version. It was a complete match; _well maybe the hat does know what it's doing after all... But it's still perverted! _Looking at his hat Draco realised he'd have to put it on to give it some last minute instructions.

****

Did you miss me?

Shut up. You will listen to me.

****

Why should I?

The hat had decided that for the moment he was irreplaceable to Draco and could be as cocky as it wanted to be.

Because if you move from what I say by a single inch I will sew you to Crabbe's bed.

And why is that bad?

He's incontinent.

****

Oh. I'm going to shut up now.

Good choice. Now, while you are on Hermione's head you will not talk to her or suggest in any way that you are anything more than her hat. When I get you back you will tell me the truth because if I find out you haven't Crabbe's bed will seem like a paradise. Clear?

****

As crystal.

Right. Now how do I lock the window again when I go out?

****

Exitus virga.

Seriously, Godric was one sick wizard.

Draco pulled the hat off his head feeling disgusted. He put it in Hermione's trunk and put the original in his bag. As he closed the lid he heard footsteps coming up the stairs. _Bugger! _He ran silently to the window. Shoving his broom outside, where it hovered, he climbed onto it and turned to shut the window behind him.

"I can't believe you forgot your hat again Hermione."

"I know Ginny, but there's just too much to carry in the mornings." Draco almost froze at the sound of her voice; shaking his head he pulled himself together and shut the window.

"Exitus virga." He whispered and dropped below the line of sight from the window. Draco heard the two girls moving around the room and the trunk opening and shutting When he heard the door shut he felt safe, Hermione had not suspected the hat. Draco flew down rapidly and miniaturised his broom again when he reached the bottom. Turning he strode away from Gryffindor tower to return to what was left of lunch.

Hermione and Ginny had reached the grounds and were walking towards the Great Lake on their daily lunchtime walk. The boys always took far too long with their lunch and the girls had started walking around the grounds instead of sitting and watching Ron eat. The lake was shining and sparkling with sunlight dancing across its surface. Hermione and Ginny stopped in the shade underneath a tree and began discussing which was more possible, whether Snape would lighten up or if professor Binns would ever stop teaching.

The hat was busily dipping into Hermione's memories, looking for references to Draco. It may have been a sleazy, perverted hat but it did honour its bargains. Suddenly it was dragged back to the front of her mind as what Hermione was currently seeing took priority.

"Oh no!" Hermione exclaimed, diving behind the tree and pulling Ginny with her.

"Who're we hiding from?" She asked, puzzled.

"Him!" Hermione hissed, pointing past the tree. Ginny peeked around the tree and saw Draco walking past.

"Hermione why are you hiding from him?" Ginny demanded as soon as Draco had moved out of hearing. Hermione slumped against the tree.

"I don't know Gin."

"Is it because of what he says to you?"

"No, he doesn't even say those things anymore. It's more that he's changed." Hermione sighed and leant back against the tree as she tried to gather her thoughts.  
"Whenever he insults us his heart doesn't seem to be into it. I can't sort out how I feel about him Gin. I… I don't hate him anymore. I want to find out more about him. I never saw him with any of the death eaters during the war. In fact I only saw him once, with Snape." It had been hard to admit, and her voice wavered. Ginny smiled gently at her friend. She knew what Hermione wanted, but knew she'd need some help admitting it.

"That's a bad thing? Hermione not all Slytherins are bad. He has changed, and so have a lot of the other Slytherins. Most of them didn't want as much to do with the war as they tried to pretend. The really bad ones didn't come back. I think we should try to make friends with those that did return."

"Yeah." Hermione agreed with Ginny. Hermione knew Ginny was thinking of her own Slytherin crush as she said this, but Hermione supported her over that. After all, her crush had never been as actively hostile as Draco towards them.

Hermione was in two minds about Draco. She knew she had an obligation to Harry and Ron to keep her distance from him, which was why she kept up the insults, yet a small part of her mind wanted to know more about him. The dreams she had been having lately certainly didn't help her sort out her mind. She kept denying over and over that she wanted anything to do with him, but her traitorous thoughts kept returning to him. Little changes in his behaviour made her want to ask about his life. She wanted to know what had driven him before the war, what drove him now. It was an insatiable curiosity that she knew was going to get her into trouble one day, but she couldn't suppress it.

"Hermione, lunch is almost over." Ginny's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she nodded distractedly, following the younger Gryffindor back to the castle. Riding on her head, the hat had all the information it needed.

So operation Bobble hat has begun, where will it lead? Review to find out :D Tell me what you think.

EDIT: Ok, I finally managed to rewrite the end with Ginny and Hermione to my liking. That's held me back for a while, but it seems to work now. Well I hope you all like the new version of Stealing the Sorting Hat and a new chapter should hopefully be up in the near future.


	6. The Next Step

The Next Step

**-waves sheepishly- Hi? Been gone a long time I know, but I've got a fairly long chapter to make it up to you?. First things first, if you haven't already done so (if you haven't seen my profile page recently, ect) please reread the earlier chapters of this. I've rewritten it and changed quite a bit, and I think it reads better now.  
I really have no excuse for the amount of time I was gone, but thank you to everyone of you who has patiently waited for me to update and I hope this doesn't disappoint you and that you'll give me a second chance and stick with me.**

Draco hadn't wanted to do this, but after some careful thought he had realised it was the only way. After all, Hermione was not a naturally forgetful person and things might not work out as perfectly for him again the next day. Which is why he was now hanging from his fingertips from his broom outside the Gryffindor tower in the dead of night. A freak blast of wind had knocked him off balance and, before he knew it, he was hanging precariously, Hermione's real bobble-hat in his teeth.

Wool didn't taste very nice, Draco decided as he tried to get leverage on the stones of the tower, but it certainly muffled swear words. Finally finding a crack he could wedge a toe into Draco managed to pull himself back up onto his broom. Breathing a sigh of relief as he removed the hat he reached slowly into his pocket to pull out his wand, the broom rocking slightly. He tapped the window and muttered the offending spell, blushing slightly as he did so. _Damned hat. _The window now swung open silently when he pushed it and he took a deep breath. This next part would require stealth and cunning. _I'll be fine. As long as I don't trip over anything._

The only light in the small room came from the moon shining in through the windows. As the moon was waning it wasn't very bright and Draco managed to stub his toe twice on various items before reaching Hermione's bed. Thankfully he hadn't made make any noise, having been able to muffle his yelps of pain. _Whichever poet came up with the idea that moonlight was romantic deserves to be shot. It is simply incredibly irritating. _

The curtains of Hermione's four poster bed were closed, a fact Draco was glad of. He really didn't need any revealing images of Hermione in silk nightclothes to distract… _Damn, I've spent too much time with that hat. _He shook his head and carefully opened the trunk, searching in the shadowy light for the hat. He finally spotted it crushed between two heavy looking books and pulled it out quickly, replacing it with the real one. Sighing in relief, he was about close the trunk and leave when the lid slipped from his fingers and slammed down with a loud bang.

Draco mentally cursed and ran on silent feet across the room. He tensed as he ran and sprang out of the window, flailing wildly with his arms for his Nimbus. He just managed to catch it with one arm as he plummeted far too quickly towards the floor. Draco managed to get on the broomstick and get it working less than ten feet from the ground and touched down with relief. He slipped the hat reluctantly onto his head as he began walking back towards the castle.

Nice landing.

Be quiet. 

Hmph, we're certainly in a good mood tonight.

What did you find out?

Hermione's mind is worse than yours.

Draco stopped dead and raised a threatening hand towards the hat.

What did you say?

**Nothing. **

That's what I thought. Now tell me what you found out. 

Your Gryffindor kitten is absolutely smitten with you.

Draco pulled the hat off his head and continued walking towards the castle, letting nothing show of mounting excitement but a small, smirking smile on his face. Once he had managed to hide feelings he didn't want the hat knowing about, he pulled it back onto his head again.

_Would you care to clarify that statement?_

She likes you. Enough to hide from you when you walk past.

The hat showed Draco Hermione's conversation with Ginny earlier. Draco frowned slightly as he thought over her words. 

_All that tells me is that she isn't opposed to the idea of having me as a friend. _

**Look deeper. **

I prefer evidence. 

**It's a start isn't it? **

Barely. 

**You know, people might like you more if you were a little nicer. **

Bite me. "Draco Malfoy!" Draco had by this time reached the inside of the castle and was walking across the entrance hall to the dungeon corridor. The shout from across the hall froze him and he turned slowly to see who it was. He had been so caught up in his argument with the hat that he had forgotten to be careful when sneaking back to his room. Now professor McGonagall was striding towards him, looking very annoyed. Draco cursed his inattentiveness and sighed as the angry teacher bore down on him. 

"How dare you flaunt the school rules like this? It is disgraceful. Fifty points from Slytherin and you will have a detention tomorrow evening." Draco nodded and tried to look contrite and not yawn. He didn't really care about the house points, but the detention was an inconvenience. McGonagall lectured him for a few more minutes before dismissing him.

Draco turned away but stopped as McGonagall called after him again.  
"One other thing, Mr Malfoy. Why are you wearing such a ridiculous hat?" Draco cursed mentally and reached up to remove the idiotic hat from his head, attempting to block out its sniggering.  
"I felt like a change in appearance." He said coldly before walking away hurriedly to hide the faint blush. Professor McGonagall shook her head and permitted herself a small smile as she walked away after making sure Draco was headed for the dungeons. _I don't even want to know what he was doing._

Draco had put the hat back on, after making sure there was no one in the corridor. He wore such a stony expression that the hat didn't dare laugh.

_What? _

**I didn't say anything. Are you going to transfigure me back? **

Tomorrow. 

Draco yawned as he climbed in to the Slytherin common room. He took the hat off again, though there were no Slytherins in the room and slowly descended to the 7th year boy's dormitory. He managed to get into his bed and draw the curtains without waking anyone. Draco quickly changed out of his robes and curled up under the covers, hugging one of the pillows to his chest and falling asleep quickly, his thoughts still muddled.

XXXXXXXX

Hermione jumped awake. She sat up slowly and listened for several moments. No noises came to her so she hesitantly moved to the edge of her bed and peered through a gap in the curtains. The only occupants in the room were the four other girls she shared the room with. One of them turned over and muttered something in her sleep. _So none of them made any noise. But something woke me up. _

She cautiously stepped out and took a quick survey of the room. Nothing seemed out of place and even a closer inspection revealed nothing out of the ordinary. _Strange. _She thought with a shudder. _Wait, why is it so cold? _A sudden knocking sound brought her attention to the open window, which was now swinging back and forth. _Oh, the window must have opened somehow. Guess that's what woke me up._

Hermione walked across the room and shut the window quickly, muttering the spells that would lock it once again. She sank back down on the bed and looked at the clock. _It's half past twelve, I should really go back to bed. _Her stomach growled and she sighed. _Heh, looks like I'm not getting any sleep until I get some food. Will the kitchens be open at this time of night? Well, Ron and Harry have gone down for midnight snacks before now._

Decided, she pulled on her dressing gown and some soft shoes and crept out of the room and down the stairs. There was a light on in the common room and she walked out quietly, not wanting to startle whoever was still up. Ginny sat curled up in a chair by the embers of the fire reading a book. Hermione headed towards her friend and Ginny looked up with a slight start at the noise, relaxing when she saw Hermione.

"Hey, Gin." Hermione said softly. "What are you doing up?" Ginny uncurled and stretched out, laying the book to one side on the table beside her chair.  
"Oh, nothing much. I just couldn't sleep." Hermione smiled sympathetically.  
"Had that dream again?" Ginny nodded, staring intently into the fire. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Hermione gently put an arm around her friend's shoulders.  
"Yeah. Why do I keep dreaming about it, 'Mione? The war's over, everyone's fine," Ginny's voice dropped to a whisper. "So why can't I forget?" Hermione sighed and held Ginny tighter.  
"You witnessed some horrible things Gin. It's going to take a while for them to fade." Ginny nodded but continued staring blankly into the flickering fire.  
"I just wish they'd hurry up."

Hermione watched her friend sadly, not knowing what to say to make her feel better. They had discussed the dreams over and over again until Hermione knew every detail. She had reassured Ginny in every way she knew possible, yet the dreams continued to plague her. Hermione was at her wits end and desperate but Ginny had sworn her to secrecy, not wanting to worry anyone else. _'After all Hermione, they're only dreams. They can't hurt me.' _Hermione sighed again at the memory. _But they can Gin. And I wish you could find someone to confide in who can lay your fears to rest._

"Hey Gin, want to get some hot chocolate?" _If I can't help her, I can at least distract her. _Ginny looked up at Hermione in surprise.  
"**The **Hermione Granger is suggesting we sneak out of the tower in the middle of the night for hot chocolate. Have I gone mad?" Hermione laughed and pulled her out of the chair.  
"I was heading down there anyway, come on." With a weak smile, Ginny allowed herself to be pulled out of the room.

The rule abiding 7th year had never dreamed that sneaking out could be this exhilarating, or this much fun. Then again, most of the times she had had snuck out before had usually involved life threatening situations. That, and none of them had involved a giggling Ginny who seemed determined to get them caught.  
"Ginny!" She scolded quietly after the third time they had had to hide from Filch after Ginny had made too much noise.  
"Sorry Hermione. It's not **my **fault Filch can move around so quickly."  
"Just keep quiet or we'll both get detention."  
"Ok." Hermione couldn't help but smile at Ginny's quick reply, one she knew would be broken without a second thought.

The two managed to reach the entrance hall without too much more trouble. Life certainly was more exciting with Ginny around. Hermione looked around cautiously before running out of the shadows into the moonlit hall. Ginny was about to follow when something caught the corner of her eye. She tried to call out in warning but was hit by a sudden Silencio. Ginny stared in shock out into the hall.

Hermione sighed and quickly hid her wand. She had seen the shadow as soon as Ginny had and had silenced her friend so as not to get the both of them in trouble. Now she turned to face the approaching McGonagall with a resigned attitude.  
"Miss Granger. Have you **any** idea what time it is?"

"Sorry Hermione." Ginny apologised again. Hermione shot her friend a despairing look and sighed.  
"Gin, stop it. It was my idea to come down here, so I should be the only one in trouble. I didn't want you caught too." Ginny nodded and reluctantly dropped the subject.  
"Well, It's only a detention anyway." Hermione said breezily. Ginny looked back at her worriedly.  
"Are you felling ok, Hermione?"  
"Huh? Sure Gin, why?" Ginny shook her head and grinned at her friend.  
"Oh, nothing."  
"There is one thing though." Ginny edged slightly to the side away from Hermione before asking hesitantly.  
"What?"  
"I never did get that food." Hermione sighed. Ginny looked at her for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Hermione jumped at the sudden noise and then yelped when she heard running footsteps from behind them.  
"Ginny!" She hissed and pushed them into the shadows behind a suit of armour.

"Good thing that Filch is so blind." Hermione muttered as they returned to Gryffindor tower. Ginny was attempting to catch her breath as Hermione had made her run the rest of the way to avoid any chance of another meeting with a member of staff. They gave the password to the fat lady and then collapsed in two chairs. Ginny smiled at Hermione and Hermione couldn't help but smile back. She didn't know why, but suddenly the fact she had a detention didn't seem so huge any more. Telling Ron and Harry would be hell though, she though with a wince.

"Oh!" Ginny's sudden exclamation startled her.  
"What?"  
"I just remembered!" Sometimes she could be incredibly frustrating.  
"Ginny, what did you just remember?" Hermione asked slowly. Ginny suddenly laughed uncomfortably.  
"Promise not to kill me?" Hermione was beginning to suspect something by now and kept her voice very calm.  
"You know I wont do that. Now, tell me what you remembered."  
"Do what? Kill me or promise not to kill me?  
"Ginny."  
"Ok! Well… I.. Um.. I kinda have some food upstairs in my drawer."  
"Ginny!"  
"Hey! I wasn't in the right state of mind to be remembering!" Ginny defence was cut short when Hermione launched herself from the chair and began tickling her mercilessly.

Hermione finally collapsed on top of Ginny, as breathless as the younger girl.  
"You finished?" Ginny wheezed.  
"Yeah."  
"Still hungry?" Ginny looked up at her and Hermione returned her small smile.  
"Yeah."  
"Come on then. But if we wake my roommates there'll be hell to pay." The two girls half-ran, half-tiptoed up the stairs, both far too awake now to even think of sleeping for a while yet. Hermione had known Ginny wouldn't sleep for the rest of night anyway and was glad her excuse to stay up with her had worked out so well, even if there had been some unexpected twists. _Ah well, _she thought as she followed that bobbing red head up the staircase. _That's life I suppose. _

**Hee, I had fun writing that. Apologies again for being gone so long, but I have to warn you that the next update might not be for a while, but I've remembered what I was doing with this story though, and I quite like it, so hopefully expect more. :D  
Please watch out, because I am determined to finish this story. Then I will finish One Wish, Happy Birthday and Forbidden Tears. I _will _do it, it just might take me a while.  
Anyone who reviews gets a cookie for being kind enough to stick with me :D  
And anyone who catches the important plot device I set up in this chapter gets a piece of special rainbow cake :D**


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